This dressing is so delicious — super creamy and full of flavor! It's divine in any salad, and one of my boys uses it as a dip for raw carrots! I know — I can't believe it either!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Makes approximately 2 cupsTotal Prep and Cooking Time: less than 5 minutes

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisk the mustard, honey, vinegar, vanilla, and salt.

Cook while whisking, only until it begins to simmer and everything is evenly blended, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and very gradually drizzle in the olive oil, as you continue to whisk. Season to taste with the pepper.

Valentina's passion is food, and she loves spending time in her "kitchen retreat," as she refers to that room in her house. Valentina develops recipes for creative and comforting food that works perfectly for casual entertaining. Both her recipes and food photography have been featured many times on popular food websites and in print. Valentina shares her beautiful photographs as well as new and interesting recipes almost daily on her blog, Cooking on the Weekends.

Outside the worlds of food and photography, Valentina's other passion is her family (including her two young boys, her husband and her puppy, Maple.)

To learn more about Valentina and where her work has been featured, visit her About page at Cooking On The Weekends.